From our Southeast Asia Collection, a very striking contemporary Burmese writing box done in the "shwei-zawa" technique, with gold leaf floral designs known as "chupan" set against a shiny black lacquer ground, all done to very striking and dramatic effect. For those unfamiliar with this ancient Southeast Asian craft that began with the Thai in the seventeenth century, and is still practiced today mainly by the Burmese, Sylvia Fraser -Lu gives a simplified but useful explanation in Burmese Crafts, Past and Present, page 238.